top of page

Shihan Gaëtan Sauvé 6th dan

Shihan Gaëtan Sauvé 6th dan

In the fall of 1971, Gaëtan Sauvé began Kyokushinkaikan karate with Roger Lesourd, in Montreal on rue Saint-Hubert. He trains 4 days a week. It will reach the level of the green belt. His teachers were Shihan Gaëtan Verville and Hanshi Gilles Dufour.

In 1974, Gaëtan Verville opened his karate school at 1948 rue de l'Eglise in Côte-Saint-Paul (Montreal). This new dojo is located across the street where Gaëtan Sauvé lives. The dojo being located thirty seconds from his home, Gaëtan begins to train 5 to 6 days a week (16 hours a week). He discovers a passion and promises to become an expert in karate.

In 1976, Gaëtan taught full time until 1977 at the Gaétan Verville karate school.

In 1977, Gaëtan moved to Sherbrooke and joined the IKO1, whose director is Sosai Masutatsu Oyama, the founder of the Kyokushin style.

In 1978, Gaëtan and Réal de Repentigny (who was his friend and brother-in-law) toured the different regions of Quebec to open a dojo together.

 

The two men have chosen to open their own dojo in two different regions. Shihan Réal from Repentigny opened his dojo in Jonquière and Shihan Gaëtan Sauvé opened his first dojo, at 1088 rue Saint-Jean in old Quebec City.

In 1978, Gaëtan passed his second dan with IKO1.

In early 1979, he was selected to represent Canada at the second world championship opened in Tokyo, Japan. This competition, organized by Sosai Masutatsu Oyaman, will take place on November 23-24-25, 1979. Gaëtan won his first two fights, but he had to forfeit due to a dislocated ankle.

From 1980 to 1991, he joined the US Kyokushin with Soshu Shigeru Oyama and was appointed branch chief in 1980 by the latter.

In 1984, Gaëtan passed his third dan with Soshu Shigeru Oyama within the US Kyokushin organization.

1993. He continues his adventure in Karate Kyokushin with Hanshi Steve Arneil president of the International Karate Federation (IFK). He will be appointed vice-president of the International Karate Federation for Canada.  

In 1993, Gaëtan passed his fourth dan certified by the IFK. In the same year, he opened his karate school in Montreal in the Rosemont district. Several of his students have become sensei and shihan. Several knockdown champions have come from this school.

In 2004, Gaëtan received his fifth dan from Hanshi Steve Arneil of the IFK.

From 2007 to 2017 he devoted himself entirely to study, writing and research and published numerous works on psychoverbal self-defense (6 books), the 5 Shaolin animal forms (psychoverbal-oriented self-defense) and a method of personal development. , based on the warrior model, Success-Do. He continues to train and teach privately to keep fit and also trains at the gym every week.

In 2014, he obtained his DEP diploma in computer science. In 2016, he obtained his DEP diploma in sales.

In 2017, he returned to teaching full-time Kyokushin at École de Karaté Laval inc. belonging to Sensei Jonathan C. Hémond (one of his former students of the Karate Rosemont school). Shihan Gaëtan Sauvé is back within the IFK federation which is under the new presidency of Shihan Steve Fogarasi.

In 2019, Gaëtan will receive his sixth dan from Hanshi Steve Arneil of the IFK.

In 2021, Gaëtan returns to teaching with Karaté Ste-Rose, in Laval. The founder of Karaté Ste-Rose is sensei Denis Lyrette, a former student that Shihan Gaëtan Sauvé taught in 1985.


Image de Shihan Gaëtan Sauvé 6e dan de Karaté Kyokushin IFK en uniforme de Karaté.
Photo de Gaëtan Sauvé à 18 ans  avec Gaetan Verville et Gérald Verville en 1978.
Beach training quebec 1980. Gaëtan Sauvé qui donne un coup de pied de coté sur la plage Germain.
SemiFinale de Karaté Knockdown en 1985 contre Ricky Romero. Gaetan Sauvé qui donne un kick.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram

The journey on the Martial Way of the author

Kyokushin Karate Budo:

Shihan Gaetan Sauvé deeply believes that Kyokushin Karate is above all a Karate Budo. That fundamentally, the practice must be turned towards the martial way (character work, realistic technique and self-defence) and not only the sporting way. He deeply believes that we must make a return to the sources that Sosai Masutatsu Oyama undertook before his death and that Hanshi Steve Arneil has sought to continue. This return to the roots is at the origin of the foundation of Kyokushin Karate, a Karate Budo.

Sporting practice is only one aspect of Kyokushin Karate and only a small percentage of practitioners engage in this way. We accompany those who want to experience this path, but make sure that the practitioner understands that he or she must practice all other aspects of Kyokushin Karate. 

The author has participated in and won Knockdown Karate tournaments, but for him, he has never perceived his approach as purely sporting. For him, Knockdown kumite (fighting) is a laboratory for practising his techniques, his strength of mind and his understanding of strategy and tactics. In competition, although one never aims at defeat, victory is not essential if one aims at acquiring the spirit of budo.

 

The fundamental goal of Budo Karate is to remain creative and generative under stress. To have a powerful and flexible body, a decisive and flexible mind in a relational field where all share a sense of peace, from the inside out. The ultimate goal is to create members who will create a stronger society and help solve current and future crises.

Participation in competitions:

He took part in a dozen knockdown competitions. He represented Canada at the second World Championship in Japan in 1979. He was Canadian champion for three years (1984-1985-1986) and was the first Canadian to win a knockdown championship in North America in 1985 in New York (in addition to two others in the top 3).

Gaëtan fought in all weight categories (light, medium, heavy and all categories) and this in more than ten open tournaments Knockdown Kyokushin (full contact competition without protection) between 1978 and 1986.

Shihan Michael Monaco, President of IFK Kyokushin in the United States, said of Gaëtan Sauvé: “Shihan Gaëtan is the only one I know who fought in all three weight categories (light-medium-heavy) in knockdown karate ( full contact karate without protection) and who fought in Japan when there was no weight class.

  • 1979. Represented Canada at the second Kyokushin Open World Championship in Tokyo, Japan;

  • 1980. Second place at the Connecticut Championship, USA;

  • 1981. Attended the first North American knockdown championship in Connecticut, USA;

  • 1982. Participation in the 2nd North American knockdown championship in New York, USA;

  • 1983. Third place obtained at the 4th North American Championship in Connecticut, USA;

  • 1983 Participation in the 3rd North American Knockdown Championship in New York, USA;

  • 1984 Champion at the 3rd Canadian Full Contact Karate Championship in Laval, Quebec;

  • 1985 Champion at the 4th Canadian Full Contact Karate Championships in Laval, Quebec;

  • 1985 Champion at the 7th North American Knockdown Championship in Connecticut, United States;

  • 1986 Champion at the 5th Canadian Full Contact Karate Championship in Laval, Quebec.

Arbitration:

Since 1987, Shihan Gaëtan has officiated over thirty full contact and knockdown karate competitions in Canada and abroad. He was Director of Arbitration between 1994 and 2000.

He was appointed World Knockdown Referee by IFK's Hanshi Steve Arneil during a course in Russia led by Shihan Alex Kerrigan. Shihan Gaëtan refereed the first IFK Knockdown World Championship held in Moscow, Russia in 1997.

 

Coaching:

 

He has coached at several provincial, international and world full contact and knockdown championships and his students have won over 50 championships.

 

He also coached Canada at the Second IFK World Tournament in 2001 in Valencia, Spain, and in 2005 at the Third IFK World Tournament in London, United Kingdom.

 

Writer:

 

  • 1994. Personal Growth Magazine, Les Publications Neomag inc. ; chronicle on Tai Chi.

  • He writes 6 books on psychoverbal self-defense. https://www.gaetansauve.com/e-books

  • A book on the 5 Shaolin animal forms and their application in psychoverbal self-defense and personal development.

  • A book on Success-Do.

  • 2016. Blog Expressing oneself without pain. Psychoverbal self-defense.  https://www.autodefenseverbale.com/

  • 2021 Blog on The Way of the Warrior:  https://www.lavoieduguerrier.com/

  • Conception and co-animation of a television series:

  •  

  • 1994 "L'Ultime Karate-Do": 11 weekly programs broadcast on channel 9, production company CFCF-Cable.

  • Trainer, speaker and coach:

  • Gives online training on this unique approach that is Psychoverbal Self-Defense to express yourself in harmony.

Tai chi

Gaëtan Sauvé has also practiced and taught Tai Chai Chuan since 1985

 

Neurolinguistic Programming and Hypnosis

Gaëtan Sauvé is also a Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) at the Center Québécois de PNL du Québec (3-year study completed in 1996). He was interested in hypnosis from the age of 15 and has practiced for over 45 years and has various certifications in this field. He has used this knowledge for his own career and those of his students.

 

He brings together all his knowledge of psychology, beliefs, communication and values and has carried out intensive research for more than 30 years to develop and form the basis of the first psychological and verbal martial path: psychoverbal self-defense and the 5 Shaolin animal forms.

 

In the late 1980s, he incorporated a verbal self-defense base into his physical self-defense seminars. Then came the idea of creating a self-defense class that would focus only on the psychological, emotional and verbal aspects of conflict, as opposed to traditional martial arts which only teach how to respond to purely physical threats.

At the same time, he studied several psychological approaches (transpersonal, Jungian, transactional analysis, psychosynthesis ...), Zen meditation, rebirth, psychocybernetics, general semantics, neurosemantics, Ericksonian hypnosis, homeopathy, Chinese energy, naturopathy and various methods of consciousness expansion. He has been teaching Tai Chi for over two decades.

Compétition Knockdown avec Gaëtan Sauvé en position de combat, à New York. Compétition Shigeru Oyama
1985 championnat nord américain Champion Gaetan Sauvé à New York.
Gaëtan Sauvé et Hanshi Steve Arneil dans le dojo de Karaté de Rosemont. Devant le logo de IFK.
Gaëtan Sauvé avec une partie de l'équipe de compétition et les trophés gagnés par dojo de Rosemon
Livre de Gaetan Sauvé Désamorcez les attaques psychoverbales Tome I
Livre de Gaetan Sauvé La psycho-logique relationnelle pour communiquer sans maux. Série ADPV Tome II
Livre de Gaetan Sauvé Désamorcez les conflits de l'intérieur vers l'extérieur. Série ADPV Tome II
Livre de Gaetan Sauvé LE MODÈLE S'CORE'CT. Série Autodéfense psychoverbale Tome IV
Livre de Gaetan Sauvé Craquez les 6 codes du langage. Série Autodéfense Psychoverbale Tome V
Livre de Gaetan Sauvé Succès-do les 5 pouvoir pour suivre la voie du coeur. Épuisé.
Livre de Gaetan Sauvé. Succès-Do 5 pouvoirs et 5 stratégies pour suivre la voie du succès.
Gaetan Sauvé championnat Canadien en 1986. Recevant le trophé de champion par Soshu Shigeru Oyama
Gaetan Sauvé Vice-Champion aux Championnat U.S. Kyokushin Oyama avec trophée en 1980.
Gaetan Sauvé et Gerry Marketos  faisant un combat dans le lac d'Oka au camp d'Oka en 1995

Contact me

I am always on the lookout for new and exciting opportunities. Let's communicate together.

bottom of page